Nothing’s worse than learning the fall of your reign while being away from the battlefield, and San Miguel felt exactly that on Wednesday evening.
Praying that the odds would go in their favor, their call to the heavens went unanswered.
The Beermen’s rule over the PBA Commissioner’s Cup ended after NLEX dealt Hong Kong Eastern a 94-76 beating at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
They hoped for the MVP Group team or Magnolia to lose their remaining games to get a chance for the playoffs. However, all that they can do now is head to an early vacation and assess what needs correcting for the Philippine Cup.
By being ousted from the race, this will be the first time that San Miguel failed to get past the elimination round since the 2015 edition of the import-laden meet, where it was reinforced by Ronald Roberts and then Arizona Reid.
While they go into what should be a busy mid-season break, the Road Warriors breathed more life into their own campaign.
They finished with a 6-6 record, boosting their chances of forcing a playoff for the no. 8 spot.
(C) PBA Images
“Earlier, two weeks ago, we were on the brink of elimination, pero ngayon, may tsansa kami. So we’ll take this,” said head coach Jong Uichico, whose team fell to 3-6 earlier before ending the eliminations with three straight wins.
“Today was a must win to get us to advance to the playoffs and I wasn’t ready to go home yet. Had to come to give it the best energy I got,” he said.
Mike Watkins showed the way for NLEX with 41 points on 18-of-27 shooting from the field and 14 rebounds, adding two assists and two blocks as well.
Robert Bolick finished with 21 points, five rebounds, and eight assists as he and Watkins led the fourth-quarter pullaway against an Eastern side that appeared demoralized after losing in the 2024-25 Hong Kong A1 Division semis.
Jonnel Policarpio and Javee Mocon had nine points apiece.
Meanwhile, the trio of Robbie Herndon, Xyrus Torres, and Brandon Ramirez chipped in at least three points as Uichico’s short rotation proved effective against the guest team.
Now, the Road Warriors — who are currently sitting at eighth in the standings — would need the Hotshots (5-6) to lose against Meralco (7-3) on Friday, January 31, to formally clinch their ticket to the quarterfinals.
(C) PBA Images
Chris McLaughlin, on the other hand, had 18 points and 17 rebounds to lead Eastern.
The team ended their elimination round campaign with back-to-back losses and fell to the sixth spot with a 7-5 record, dashing their top two hopes.
Hayden Blankley made 14 points. Glen Yang supplied 12 points and eight rebounds, while Kobey Lam chipped in 11 for the struggling crew.
The Scores:
NLEX 94 – Watkins 41, Bolick 21, Mocon 9, Policarpio 9, Herndon 6, Torres 5, Ramirez 3, Alas 0, Semerad 0.
Hong Kong Eastern 76 – McLaughlin 18, Blankley 14, Yang 12, Lam 11, Cao 5, Cheuung 5, Chan 4, Guincahrd 3, Pok 2, Leung 2.
Quarterscores: 18-23, 43-42, 65-57, 94-76.
